Up Close & Personal … The Elusive Dragonfly

by incahootswithmuddyboots
July 3, 2018
25 comments
In my Garden, Musings, Nature, Photography, Up Close & Personal ...

When I looked out the window the other day, I spotted this reddish-orange dragonfly sunbathing on a poppy seedpod. I grabbed my camera and quickly went outside in hopes of taking a few pictures of this incredible flying machine.

The dragonfly however, did not cooperate for several days. I’d slowly and quietly try to sneak up on it only to have it dash off in a hurry. It would then land somewhere else and resume sunbathing until I was close again.

We did this back and forth dance for several days and I was almost ready to give up! Then on Saturday I saw the dragonfly resting again on the poppy seedpod. Outside I went, and wouldn’t you know it, the space alien like beast stayed put!! And posed for nearly an hour.

It didn’t just rest, but also showed off its arial prowess by taking wing. Hovering, darting, coasting, circling around my head and then landing again on the seedpod. What a sight!

Until this up close & personal encounter I had never really noticed all the interesting details about this fascinating insect. They are incredible flyers, catch their prey in midair and always look so graceful zipping past me in the garden.

Do you have dragonflies where you live?

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My passions in life are vegetarian cooking, gardening, photography, writing, good books, traveling and nature. Thanks for stopping by, Sabine

25 thoughts on “Up Close & Personal … The Elusive Dragonfly”

  1. janesmudgeegarden says:

    Great photos. Your patience really paid off. We do have dragonflies here, but they’re quite elusive, and I haven’t tried to catch them on camera.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. insearchofitall says:

    Wow! I have never seen a red one!!! Such interesting looking creatures. I saw one tonight, as a matter of fact while watering the front yard after dong more pressure washing. Painted your potting bench today too and the back steps. Seeing butterflies too. 🙂 It’s going to be a wonderful summer. 🙂 Especially in your back yard!! You have the most interesting creatures there.

    Liked by 1 person

    • incahootswithmuddyboots says:

      Hey Marlene, I saw two more today. I’ll work on a post about them. We mostly get the red ones over here. This one came back again today and stayed perched on the poppy seedpod for a long while. And yes, I agree that it’s going to be a wonderful summer. Your garden is wonderful too. I love what you’ve done with it! And lastly, yes I do have interesting creatures here! 😉

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Trish says:

    Patience and persistence. Dragon flies and deadheads. Escape and then taking stage. Anatomy and function. Your photos made motion stand still. – This fella got to know you. How much fun can a person or a flying insect have! As you say, a dance. – I’m inspired!

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Ali says:

    Oh, wow!!! You should enter these in a photography competition, they are AMAZING!!! I love his face!

    Liked by 1 person

    • incahootswithmuddyboots says:

      Thanks Ali! I can’t decide if their faces are cute or ugly. There were a couple of other dragonflies that made an appearance yesterday. They were much more willing to pose, never moving to fast or far for me to tag along. I shall get those posted soon. Thanks for suggesting entering the photos into a photo competition, I’ll have to check into it. 🙂

      Like

  8. Missy says:

    Hey Sabine! All your patience sure did pay off, great photos! Dragons are probably my favorite summer flyer. I love watching them dart around. We have several around here as well. When we were biking a couple of weeks ago, there were several showing their aerial prowess. Quite beautiful creatures.

    Liked by 1 person

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